The Problem with Payments for Online Retailers

Peter Prestipino

Posted on 1.15.2017

There's a great deal of integration between payment solutions and payment providers online but numerous challenges remain. Let's take a look at some of the most serious threats and what Internet retailers can do about it.

FRAUD: It's essential that online merchants are focused on the effectiveness of their security measures. Fraud has always been a problem and likely always will be. The only thing that can change is how Internet-based retailers can prevent it from happening. Start with an audit of your online payment system (ideally an expert that knows what to look for) and gain an idea of the existing vulnerabilities.

CHARGEBACKS: Investing in solutions that help online merchants identify patterns in user behavior to reveal when transactions show signs of abnormal purchase activity can make a world of difference to revenue. Preventing chargebacks requires that Internet retailers take a proactive monitoring and mitigation approach. Fortunately, there are an abundance of solutions (including Chargebacks 911, Verifi, SiftScience, Signifyd, Riskified and others) available to guide merchants to fewer chargebacks which can lead to lower processor fees.

PAYMENT ALTERNATIVES: It's not essential that online merchants provide an alternative to the traditional credit cards payment option, but it could be a way for merchants to differentiate. Accepting bitcoin through a solution like Coinbase, or consider offering customers an installment payment plan through a vendor like Splitit (ideal for those with higher ticket items), are just two of ways to minimize payment problems and ensure 'Net success.

INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: Selling in countries outside of a merchant's native area can provide a much-needed and welcome source of additional revenue, but the landscape to do so is a complex one. There are, of course, several solutions available that manage the more complicated aspects of selling international. Avalara, for example, is one of the best known and most powerful solutions for managing taxes and duties associated with selling around the globe.

INTEGRATION: One of the reasons that Internet retailers turn to specific payment solutions is because of the integrations they provide. There are very specialized technology processes that can provide quite a performance boost but online merchants must know that not every integration is worthwhile. Don't over-integrate, keeping only those solutions that make a positive impact.

When choosing a payment provider for an e-commerce enterprise, explore what they can do to help your team and brand mitigate fraud, minimize chargebacks, process international orders, and support alternative payments. There are payment solution providers with very powerful technology and tools to not only ensure the security of your online enterprise, but help you deliver an experience that resonates and appeals to users, works with existing systems, and can be used in a scalable way.